Perfect II
by Sefie Lynne tilmitt
Summary: Fate is not kind... The race of Mage, Human, and GF clash. Matt Leonhart, the son of Raven and Xeno, is caught in the middle... with someone he never expeced. He wants to know what happened, why, and how to get revenge... but that's not how fate goes,huh?
1. Default Chapter

Raven Leonheart looked in the mirror. At one time, she never would've believed where she was in life now. She had long black hair and gray eyes. She wore a blue sundress, which, before she had gotten married, she wouldn't have been caught dead in, because it was so brightly colored. Raven was 25 now. Xeno Leonheart, her husband, was downstairs with Keiko, their six year old daughter. Their adopted son Matt was packing, preparing to go to Balamb Garden. 

"Mom!" yelled Matt, "Where did you put that picture of all of us standing with Aunt Star and Uncle Rage and Nina?"

Raven strode into his room. "Right where I told you. On the counter down stairs."

Matt shook his head. He was 17 and 5 foot 9, with blonde, spiky hair and deep moonstone blue-gray eyes. He looked like the type of guy who would have girls flocking to him. But he had never really had many friends. This was his first time to Garden, and Raven was hoping he'd be a little more sociable. 

"Thanks Mom." He smiled at her. 

"No problem. Want me to go get it?"

"Nah. I will in a minute." Matt sat down on his bed

His mother stared out the window at the sun, high in the atmosphere. White clouds stood out brightly against the robin's-egg blue sky. They lived just outside Winhill, where everything was beautiful. Green trees lined the horizon. His mother was deep in thought, and he wondered what. She was singing under her breath…

"And they tried so hard to reach you, but you're falling anyway, and you know I see right through you, cause the world gets in your way, what's the point in all this screaming, no one's listening anyway…" she sounded almost distant as she sang to herself.

"Mom?"

Her eyes snapped back to the present, out of the midst of memories, and she grinned. "Hm?"

Matt shook his head. "What were you thinking about?"

"I was remembering how I met Xeno." She smiled gently, reminiscences flooding her face. 

"You hated him. How did you end up falling in love with him?"

"Life's that way … it never turns out the way you expect it too."

"Life isn't fair."

"What makes you think that?"

"My real parents died. What's fair about that? And how you're a sorceress. How about that?"

"Everything happens for a reason. Don't worry. Destiny will take everyone where they're meant to go, Matt."

Raven ruffled his hair and put her hand on the door frame. "Be downstairs in about half an hour. We should be ready to leave by then." She backed away and disappeared around the corner. 

Matt shook his head. _She's more like my best friend than my mother. I can talk to her. It's hard to talk to most people cause they don't understand. She's cool, not the clean-your-room type mother. How often do you come across a person like that? He snapped his suitcase shut. Thump thump thump… He walked over to the door and opened it to see Keiko there._

"Matt?" she looked up at him with big stormy, innocent gray eyes just like Raven's.

"Yeah, squirt?" he smiled at her.

"You aren't gonna forget us, are you?" she stared intently at him. 

"Never, Kei." Matt replied.

"Here, Matt." she handed him a sheet of paper. 

It was a poorly colored and drawn picture of Keiko, Matt, Xeno, and Raven all outside holding hands. _Geeze, **now** I'm gonna feel guilty leaving…She's such a sweet little sister. He thought.__ Matt put it down on the bed beside him and pulled Keiko up onto his lap._

"Thanks, Kei."

"Why do you have to go?" she squirmed until she was in the position where she could look him in the eye. 

"Because I have to go and learn how to…" 

_How do I put this without saying 'to assassinate sorceresses and be a mercenary'? She's a little young for that kinda violence. Well…I'll be defeating evil, so I'd really be saving people, would I not?…_ Thought Matt, sighing.

"I'm learning how to save people." 

"Neat!" Keiko beamed. "Can I visit you?"

"I'm sorry, probably not." Matt looked away. 

"I'll miss you." She buried her head in his shoulder. 

"I'll miss you, too."

"Mommy and Daddy aren't going away too, are they?"

"They're staying here with you. But hey, I'll be back during the summer."

"That'll take FOREVER!"

"It'll pass quick, okay? And I'll come back in June, I promise. All right?"

"I guess." She gave him a hug and hurried out of the room. 

_She had to make this tough, didn't she?_ He thought solemnly. 

He looked at his watch. 9 o'clock. Time to get going. He went down the stairs to meet Xeno and Raven. Keiko was standing sadly behind her mother. 

"Ready?" Raven asked, to break the silence.

"Mom… Can I just take my motorcycle?" asked Matt. 

He had always had trouble with goodbyes, and it would be easier if he left alone. 

"Sure." She shook her head, as if there was unspoken tension in the air. So there was.

"Goodbye Mom, Dad, Kei." He hugged them all, putting on his black leather jacket and sunglasses. 

He didn't look back as he turned on the motor and hit the gas. __

_Boy that was a pain. But soon I'll be at Balamb, and it'll go quick. I'll enjoy Garden, and everything'll be normal. I'll write letters to them anyway. So it'll feel like I haven't lost touch with 'em. It'll be great. Wait… I did pack that picture, right? $H!t… Now I can't even look at a picture of my own family. I already miss them. And now… I feel even more alone. _


	2. Turned Down

            Yuki Kaida drummed her fingers on the desk. Kyo was late… then… She stared wide eyed at the new student. He looked shocked and deeply unhappy, and Yuki couldn't blame him in the slightest. He was soaked. Maybe Kyo wasn't late. Yuki looked up at the air vent. Kyo's blonde head popped out and winked at her. Kyo was the trickster of the Garden, and he was quite mean when he wanted to be. The new student shook his head, his face red, and ran from the room. Poor guy. Yuki sorta pitied him. Kyo disappeared from her view of the vent, and about six minutes later sidled into the commons.

            Matt cursed under his breath. Apparently not many people at Garden liked him. He knew who had done it, but had resolved not to tell. It was that Ryo Hishono kid. Earlier that day, Ryo had stolen his backpack. It had taken him all morning to find it. This guy seemed like trouble. But, as he had heard his mother say so many times, 'ignore them', and 'two wrongs don't make a right'. He looked over at the picture Keiko had given him, which he had pinned up on his dorm wall. He heard a knock on the door and rushed to it, a dry black t-shirt on, tucked into a new pair of jeans. His hair was spiked every which way all over the place because he had just attempted to dry it. Not that that was unusual.

"Hello?" he was surprised to find it was the quiet girl that always sat in the very back during class. What was her name again…? Yuri, was it? No, Yuki. That was it.

"Yo." She seemed rather embarrassed. 

Matt nodded and stepped aside. "Come on in."

"Thanks…" she walked in hesitantly.

"Sup?" 

            He really wanted to know what she wanted. People never came to see him, much less a pretty girl. Yuki was tall and very thin, with black hair with electric blue streaks in it. She had the greenest eyes, and wore punk rock style clothes. 

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. Part of it my fault. Ryo and I had planned on dumping on you, but only by book-checking you. I had no idea he was gonna pull that dumb stunt… well, in any case, I dropped by to apologize. And while you're at it, forgive my friend. It's not likely he's the type to apologize. Well, sorry and I'll see ya around." Yuki shrugged.

"Hey, don't worry about it."

"Really?"

Yuki had been expecting Matt to get really mad, or at least ticked off just a little.

"Yup. Why?"

"I wasn't expecting you to take it so…" _Oops… _"Um…" _Didn't mean to say that out loud…_

"I guess I don't really blow up easy. Learned it from Dad." _Boy, does Mom have a temper on her, though…_

            Yuki smiled. This guy was completely relaxed, and he didn't eve know her. He let back his guard infront of the girlfriend of the guy who soaked him. That took some nerve, at least if you asked her. She stored away that piece of information about him. And he was really, really cute. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She was already dating Ryo. She shouldn't think that Ryo's favorite trick victim was cute. Absolutely not. 

"Hey, to be the friend of a trickster you're pretty cool. You up for coffee tomorrow morning?" 

            The words were out of his mouth before Matt could stop them. Oh no… this was gonna be so embarrassing… Why was he stupid enough to say that? She was probably already taken… probably already had a boyfriend….

_Kuso__, I should've said I had a boyfriend! He seems so much nicer than Ryo, and cuter…But I can't! Ryo would **kill** me! Matt's cool, and I really don't wanna turn him down, but I don't have an option. I'm really gonna regret this, aren't I? _

"I'm sorry. I'm…. busy. I have to… study with Eyno! For a written SeeD test. Wish I could, but… I can't." lied Yuki.

"How about Saturday then?"

_$h!t… are you trapping me on purpose, Matt?! "Saturday? Um…" She quickly tried to make up and excuse, but came up completely blank._

"Never mind." Matt shrugged. 

"Bye Matt." Yuki felt her face grow hot, and she edged towards the door. 

"See ya Yuki." Matt waved her off. It seemed to Yuki that a wave of ice was emanating from him. She turned and strode out of the room. 


	3. The Worst End To The Worst

            Yuki stared out the window. She was sitting on the cushy leather couch in the commons, thinking. _I really wish I coulda went with Matt. He's really cute, and he seems nice enough. But Ryo would absolutely mutilate me. _She doodled in her notebook. Mainly pictures of phoenixes. For some reason she had always loved mythical creatures, like phoenixes and dragons and centaurs. 

She closed her eyes. She could call up a mental image of a place she had never seen before. As if straight out of someone else's memories…

**Dark shapes danced and lightening flashed, thunder made the floor shake. The view shifted. As if looking through somebody's eyes and they had looked up. A tall, pretty woman stood about a foot away. **

**"Stay close." She breathed, kneeling close. Blocking something from view… from danger. **

**"Mom." The view locked on the woman's face. She couldn't've been more than 26. She had long black hair and gray-green eyes. She was wearing tight jeans and a black sweater, and white sketchers tennis shoes. **

**"Yes?"**

**"Are we gonna get hurt?" the voice could belong only to someone six or younger…**

**"I'll protect you. I promise." She sounded scared. **

**With a trembling hand she reached for the phone. She picked it up and tried it. It was dead. The lights were off, but the power wasn't out. It was off so they wouldn't know anyone was there. _Bang! _There was the sound of gunfire. The woman crouched lower. A man ran in.**

**"Krystal?! I told you to get outta here!" hissed the soldier, lowering his gun. **

**"This place is surrounded. They'll notice if I leave. Get our son out of here." **

**"I'm not leaving without you."**

**"Go. Go with him and tell them he's only a kid. Surely they'll spare him."**

**"No…."**

**"Please. For me. For him." **

**The view angled right at Krystal, the woman. She stared hopelessly, then the sound of a gun. She crumpled in a heap on the floor.**

**"No! Mommy!" the little boy's voice screamed. The man, cringing, picked up the little boy, whose eyes Yuki was seeing through. The boy looked over his shoulder at his mother, and then buried his face in the man's shoulder. **

**"Daddy… she'll be okay, right?" it was a terrified whisper. **

**"No…" the man sounded like he was on the verge of tears himself. The boy started to cry. Everything went dark.**

            Yuki shook her head. _I really, really hope that wasn't someone's actual memory… Poor kid… Was it real? Who did it happen to? _She jerked when the bell rang, startled. Yuki sighed, shook her head, gathered up her books, and headed for the commons. _That's just one of those things you can't erase from your head. That poor little boy. I feel so bad for him, his dad… I watched a mother and a wife die through a six year old's eyes… _

Matt hit the last note without a glitch. The commons was so loud that not many people paid attention to his electric guitar playing. The few who did stop complimented him on it. He flicked through the pages of his black notebook. In it was every song, every poem, every story he had ever written. Also, there was music he had composed and the beginning of a few songs he had been meaning to, but never had, finished. Raven had often told him he played like Xeno, and liked the same style of music. 

He looked up. He smiled bitterly. There sat Ryo with his arm around Yuki's shoulders. _Shoulda known. Taken. My luck. And she lied to me, so I'm better off anyway. Studying with Eyno… as if. Ryo looked as smug as could be. Yuki gave him the look. Matt couldn't hear what she was saying, but he assumed she was telling him off, because she did** not** look happy, and she stood up and abandoned him on the couch alone. Ryo looked aghast, shook his head, and his face turned red. He stomped over to Matt. _

"Hey." He said. 

Matt glowered and looked up. "What?" 

"I just wanted to apologize for dumping water on you. Truce?" Ryo stuck out a stiff hand. Matt gave him a 'what's-the- catch?' look.

"Whatever." Matt reached out to shake his hand. Ryo snatched his notebook and started to run.

"You fu``\~ b1t0h! Thief!" Matt grabbed at it, on Ryo's heels. 

Ryo laughed harshly. "You want it? Why? What's in it?" he flipped it open. "Whisper on the wind… hm! Not a bad poem! And what great lyrics and music… I didn't know you were smart enough to write! Well, looks like you're gonna hafta rewrite em!" 

Ryo dangled the notebook over the fire. There was only a fire in the commons during the winter months. It was late November, and freezing outside. 

"No. Don't even think about it." Matt gasped. "No."

"Oops." Laughed Ryo, dropping it. 

"YOU AITSU!"  

Matt dove at Ryo. That notebook had the most important things to him in it. On the first page was one of the only two pictures he had of his real parents. Steam rose from the fireplace. Someone had put out the fire. Matt looked up, fury burning in his eyes. It was Yuki. She stood there, looking completely lost, like she didn't know what to do. Like she wasn't sure whether to tackle Ryo or cuss Matt and Ryo both out for being such suckers. 

Yuki stood there. She stared at the two guys on the floor, fighting. One with a black leather jacket and dark jeans on, which was Matt, was winning. He was knocking Ryo's socks off. Ryo's lip was bleeding. He kicked Matt, knocked him back, and gave him a knuckle sandwich right between the eyes. Yuki grabbed what was left of the notebook out of the ashes and stood between them. 

"Knock it of!" she yelled. By now the commons had become completely silent. 

"He hit me!" bellowed Ryo furiously.

"Put a sock in it, Ryo. You deserved that ten times over. You are SO rude!" Yuki pulled him up by the shirt collar. Ryo was nose to nose with her and not looking so tough now. "I can't believe I actually DATED you! You rude-" she poked him hard in the chest, "Obnoxious freak! I've had ENOUGH of your twisted sense of humor and you're dumb tricks! They went one step to far! We're through!" 

Yuki dropped him, handed the scorched remains of the notebook back to Matt, turned on her heel, and marched off. There was the sound of her boots clicking on the tile floor for a second, then it faded away. Matt got up, gave Ryo (who was still on the floor on his butt gibbering in total disbelief at how Yuki had conducted herself) one last good kick, clasped his junky note pad tightly, got his electric guitar, and walked off, head down, eyes shaded. 

            Matt opened the notebook gingerly so it wouldn't fall apart. There was the torched picture inside. It was of a thin girl with black hair and laughing gray-green eyes next to a man in a soldier's uniform. It was a picture of his parents, together and happy. The edges were black and burnt. He sighed, ran his hands through his hair, and closed his eyes. _The worst ending to the worst day. _


	4. Memories of Hate

            Yuki sat indian style in her room, back pressed against the cool wood of the door. The lights were off. She had always thought them to bright. Only the soft light of dusk crept through her window. She was trying to get her head around everything. There were some things that she just couldn't change, and some things she was afraid to accept. She laid her head in her hands, thinking to herself. _I'm asking for it. How stupid can I get? My 'parents'… I guess I could call them parents, apart from the fact they hate me because of my personality. Boy did they get a shock. A nasty one. They were expecting Ms. Princess, a prim and proper daughter who listened to elegant music and wore dresses everyday. Instead they got me. A punk rocker that listens to Eminem and wears hip-hugger leather skirts, black buckles, flared jeans, and black shirts. Heh. What if I were to say… run away? They wouldn't care…_

Knock knock knock. She ignored whoever was rapping on her door. Her headache was already bad enough; she didn't feel like dealing with some one right now.

The knocking stopped. 

"I just wanted to say thanks for putting out the fire and getting my notebook back." Yuki heard Matt's footsteps as he began to walk away. She bolted up and unlocked the door, walking after him.

"Welcome." She replied. She wasn't sure if he heard her, but she assumed he did.

"I'm glad you ditched that freak. Why were you going out with him at all?" he turned to face her.

"Parents." Yuki scowled. "They think they own me. His parents, my parents, all good friends, and they want Ryo and I to get together. Until now I actually wanted to make them happy. I realize it's not worth it. Ryo's a jerk."

"Mm hm."

"What was in that notebook anyways?"

"Some old pictures, songs, music, and poems I wrote."

"You write songs?"

"Yeah."

"Whaddya play?"

"Guitar and I can play… I can play piano." He looked down, as if it was embarrassing to play a piano. 

"Cool. I can play drums, and I'm pretty good with vocals, most of the time. Can you play 'Coldplay', 'The Scientist' on piano?"

"Yeah…" 

"I'd love to hear it sometime."

"Uh… Um… I got a keyboard set up in my room. Maybe you'd like to hear it now?"

"Alright." Yuki glanced at her watch. There was probably enough time to hear Matt play, do her homework, and then drop by the computer lab to check up on a few things. 

"By the way," she added as an afterthought, "I'm sorry I lied to you."

Matt nodded cheerfully. Yuki was surprised he accepted so easily, but she quickly remembered the first time she had apologized. She shook her head. _How can anyone be so trusting? No way I'd come anywhere close to being like that…_

"No problem. Was it cause Ryo?"

"Yup."

"Alright. Ready?"

"Sure…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuki smiled and sighed, walking swiftly down the hall toward her dorm. She had to admit, Matt was one of the few people who put their hearts into the music. She had even persuaded him to show and play her one of his own songs. It had been great, but he couldn't think up lyrics or a title. With a promise to help him if he would like that, Yuki had left. 

She hummed the tune to herself. Matt seemed to loose himself in the music… Like he was a part of it. She had already started to mentally begin the first draft of the lyrics. The tune and tempo of the composition sounded like it came straight out of a romance movie… The title was already set, but she wasn't sure why she liked the song so much. Briefly Yuki wondered who he had written it for, who had inspired him to write such beautiful music. Her hand closed on the doorknob, and she was wracked with chills. Her vision faded. She knew this feeling all to well; she was once again pulling remembrance out of someone else's memories. 

_            **The memory seemed to pick up right where it left off. It was the little boy who had watched his mother die. Tears clouded his vision, so it was kind of hard for Yuki to see, but she got the just of things. Sirens blared, lights flashed, and everything was in chaos. **_

**"Sh. Be quiet." The man instructed in no more than a whisper. **

**"Why do you have a boy with you?!" yelled a drunken voice over the noise. **

**"He's just a kid. Can't you spare him?"**

**"Somethin' fishy's goin' on round here! We shot that lady, and the kid was with her, so he knows what happened! So we shouldn't show him mercy either, right?"**

**"Listen! He's so young I doubt he'll remember. Can't we just let him go?"**

**"Send off the little brat to an orphanage, and I'll spare him."**

**"…As long as you swear never to hurt him." **

**"Whatever." The drunk laughed mercilessly. **

**Rough arms grabbed the boy by the shoulders, pulling him screaming and fighting away from the man. Yuki was disgusted. How could that man even call himself that poor boy's father? He deserved a black eye, and maybe a few drop-kicks. **

**The boy fought hard, but someone hit him hard on the head, knocking him from consciousness, and everything went black. **

            Yuki quaked with rage. How dare that man do that to that young little kid?! She shook her head, a burning wish for righteousness in her heart. Who could this poor child be? Whoever it was had a rough past. _Judging from the time of the event, the little kid should be about my age now.  I wonder if I could find out who it is, or at least who that man is. He was wearing a Galbadian Soldier's uniform, and he had black hair and blue eyes. He was about six foot three… She searched her mind for more details. __He looked like he was about twenty six, which would mean he would be in his mid-to-late thirties. It's been about 11 to 13 years. The boy would be maybe 17, 18, or 19. Both his parents had black hair, so I presume he did. She changed her plans, going directly to her laptop to do some research. ___


	5. Xiron

            Name: Xiron Kantalli:

            Age: 38

            Hair: Black

            Eyes: Blue

            Gender: Male

            Status: Alive, location unknown

            Family: Krystal Kantalli (Wife, Deceased), Matthew Kantalli (son, unknown status)

            Past: Wife killed by Galbadian soldiers, son sent to orphanage, dropped out of the army directly afterwards

            _Heh. What I thought. I knew if I hacked deep enough I'd find what I wanted. Let's see… Xiron. Hm. He had a son sent to an orphanage, a dead wife that was shot. Sound familiar? Absolutely. Coincidence? Definitely not. I gotta find this guy. Something tells me I'll find a lot out when I do. Why do I keep seeing this person's memory? Who is he? Normally I see happy memories, and never of the same person more than once, but this time it's upside down… She clipped her cell-phone to her belt. __Hm, his name is Matt. Weird! I'll have to tell him about this… as soon as I get back. She stood up from her computer, grabbing her keys and locking the door behind her. She stopped and looked back. A note was taped to her door. She unstuck it and opened it up. _

Yuki,

Expect pain and suffering in the very near future. It's sure to come. I'll make sure of it myself. I will put you in your place. I promise you that. I know who truly thinks highly of you, and I can torture him too. And I will. Not only physically. Mentally. It's the worst punishment a person can face- mental pain. Not many can handle it for long. Then you and your 'friend' can go insane together, if one of you isn't already dead.

~ Unknown Enemy  

            She bit her lip, indecision tearing at her. If she told an instructor, the 'enemy' was gonna get angry. It was probably a hoax anyway. But on the other hand, if it was a true threat, she could wind up hurt. She weighed her options, shook her head, crumpled up the note, shoved it in her jeans pocket, and ran down the hallway to the parking lot. She got in her truck, pumped up her Good Charlotte cd, playing her theme song, 'The Young and the Hopeless' at an impossible volume, and gunned the engine. 

"Ma'am, do you have an address for a certain Xiron Kantalli?" Yuki asked the woman at the counter politely.

The girl took her time typing in the name, smacking blue bubblegum and clicking her high-heels on the tile floor. 

"Well…"

Yuki glared impatiently. 

"Well what?"

"He doesn't exactly welcome visitors. What do you want him for?"

_Think fast, Yuki…! _

"Um… I have a message from the orphanage about his son Matthew."

"Mm hm. Sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Everyone knows the kid got adopted."

"He did…?"

"So you're lying. Get lost."

"Listen! I want to know. NOW." Demanded Yuki through gritted teeth. 

"Why?"

"Not this again!"

"What's your name, kid?"

"Yuki Kaida." She grumbled.

"Hm… Do you know Xiron's son?"

_I wish I didn't have to lie so much… _"Yep."

"What's his name?"

"Matthew Kantalli."

"Well… I guess he'd want information on his son. I suppose I have to tell you." Whined the lady reluctantly and sourly. 

"Thanks much." Yuki smirked, grabbing the piece of paper with Xiron's address on it. 

"Good day. You may excuse yourself now." Griped the girl. 

"Gladly to get out of such a sourpuss's presence." She turned and left.

She stared at the address, memorizing it, and driving to Deling City, driving slowly down the street, looking for the right house. For some reasoning beyond her fathoming, she desperately wanted to figure this out. She pulled over, shutting the car door. Yuki looked at the house. It was white, and pretty small, but it was probably only for one person anyway.  She walked up to the door and knocked. 

"Just a second!" called a voice from inside. 

There was a crash, as if something had fallen, a curse, and a few seconds passed. A tall man opened the door. This was definitely Xiron, the man from the memory. Even with added years it was unmistakable. 

"Can I help you ma'am?"

"Yessir… Are you Xiron Kantalli?"

"Yes."

"My name is Yuki Kaida. I've come to ask you a couple of questions."

"… It isn't for the army, right?" he had a tired expression on his face. 

"No."

"Come in then. Excuse the mess, by the way. I wasn't expecting anyone."

"I'm sure my dorm's messier." Grinned Yuki. The man seemed to relax slightly and stepped aside. She may have been acting cheery, but the fury of the abandoning of his son welled up inside her. 

"Sit down." He offered, gesturing towards a couch. 

The house was fairly in order. Some papers were scattered on a table, and a picture lay upside down on a chair arm. Yuki sat down on the couch.

"So, you wanted to ask me something?"

"Yessir."

"Xiron, please. I never have seen myself as a sir."

"Alright. In any case… Okay. Who was your wife?"

"Why?" he seemed thrown off by the question.

"Just a confirmation. Was her name Krystal?"

"Y-Yes."

"You had a son named Matthew, correct?"

"Miss Yuki, I really don't find these questions appropriate to answer at the time." 

"Xiron, I need to know."

"Yes."

"He was taken to an orphanage when he was young. Why?"

"Because they were gonna kill him if not! If you're not in the army, how do you know this information?"

"Don't get mad at me, but if you have the right hacking skills, you have access to nearly everything in the world. But you just let Matt go?"  
"Was I supposed to let him die?!"

"…" _I never thought of it that way. _

"I didn't think so. Do you plan on pressing me any further?"

"Matt was adopted?"

"Yes, otherwise he'd be here with me. My plan had been to let him go, drop out of the army immediately, and go get him."

"And you didn't because…?"

"I was taken as a prisoner of war. When I came back, Matt was gone and apparently happy. They wouldn't let me trace him. They only told me the name of the woman who came in and adopted him. Her name was Raven."

"… Last name to go with that?"

"No, if there was I would've found him by now. I've looked through nearly every Matthew in the book and can't find him."

"Hm."

"Are you done yet, ma'am?" he met her eyes with an icy glare.

"Yessir. Thankyou for the trouble."

"Goodbye."

Yuki strode out the door, got in her vehicle, and started the drive back to Balamb, turning over everything in her mind. 


	6. Shock

Yuki looked thoughtfully across the commons, eyes unfocused until they locked on Matt. _I wonder… _She got up, smoothing her Happy Bunny Shirt (which said, Hi Dorkwad!, it being one of her favorite Happy Bunny sayings) and walking over to him. _Could he be… He was deeply immersed in a book, and she read the title 'The War Against Galbadia: Galbadia Taking Over', which only seemed to further the confirmation of her theory… __The little boy? He looked up, his deep blue-gray eyes boring into her. _

"Hi, Yuki." He scooted over, making room for her to sit on the couch he had been spread out on. 

"Yo, Matt."

"What's up?"

"… A lot more than you might think."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just kinda wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"…Um…" she hesitated, "Are you adopted…?"

"Yeah. Why?" Matt seemed slightly troubled, and a little bitter.  

"What was your original last name?"

"Mom… er…Raven told me it was Kantalli or something once." _When I was stupid enough to ask. _

Her stomach dropped fast and hard. So he was the boy whose eyes she had seen through. How could this be? He had such a terrible past. And she had doubted Matthew Kantalli was still even alive…! He was sitting next to her.

"… Why were you adopted…?" She had to have one last tidbit of information before she accepted it as true. 

"My mother was killed, my father dumped me." He said sourly. 

_It is him. _

"On a more pleasant note… I wrote a new song last night." He added, ready to change the subject.

"Really? Can I see the lyrics or music?" she asked, a little preoccupied.

"Yeah." He handed her a sheet of paper. Scrawled across the top in messy hand, written in black gel-pen, was 'Crystal Locket'. It was a piano piece.  

"It's really cool."

"I was wondering if you'd like to play the piano piece. I have vocals and pan-flute music written out, too. I was thinking maybe I could do vocals, and you could do piano, and Kal could play pan-flute."

"Yeah, I'd like that…What did you write this about? I mean, what inspired you?"

"… My mom. My adopted mom. Raven Leonheart. She…" _Should I tell her about mom's GFs?  ... What could it hurt? _

"She…?"

"She has a pendant, and inside of it are GFs. They were her only friends until she met Xeno. They meant the world to her, and they're still her best friends. She had thought her favorite GF, Odin, had died… but he came back as a human. That's Xeno. They fell in love, and she almost lost him again. The song's about Odin being trapped inside the pendant, even though her loved her…"

"That's unique. It sounds great… I can't wait to hear it played…"

"What's up? You seem… distant."

"… Nothing…" _Should I tell him? Maybe he doesn't want anyone knowing about his past, so he might get mad at me if I tell him I know… Or maybe he wants to talk about it. I'll pass this question… um…let's see… the note. Should I talk to him about the note? I don't want to trouble or worry him, but it might be safer than keeping it a secret. _

"Whatever. I'll see ya." Matt got up, stretched, and walked off. 

He looked back for a second, shook his head, and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed the familiar number, and it rang. Nobody picked up, so he tried the cell phone number instead. Matt suddenly got worried. Raven carried her cell-phone everywhere with her. Where was she…? Well, it was Friday and he didn't have anything to do, so he might as well go and visit her to see if anything was wrong. Matt hurried to the parking lot, jumped on his motorcycle, and began the drive home.

Yuki noticed that Matt had left his book. She picked it up. 'Many houses were raided, some of the most famous being the Taorine and Kantalli families. Taorine was a soldier and the second in command.  She was forced to make the decision whether to attack the town her husband and children lived in or not. She wouldn't and got killed for rebelling against the rest of the soldiers. Kantalli was also a soldier, the only one with authority and rank among the group of soldiers attacking cities. His best friend Kaida shot his wife and he just barely spared Kantalli's son.' _That meant… someone in my family… probably my dad… killed Matt's mom…? Matt must hate me… I'm the offspring of the man who killed his mother._ _This just keeps getting worse and worse…doesn't it?_

Matt knocked on the door. 

"Mom? Xeno? Kei?" 

No answer. He took out his key and opened the door. The feeling inside gave him the creeps as he stepped through the threshold to the kitchen. There was total silence that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. 

"Mom…?"

Matt walked over the hardwood floor. Keiko's toys lay on the floor, abandoned. The silence seemed offended by the sound of his sneakers against the floor. He jumped as the wind howled, causing a tree branch to bang against the window. He laughed nervously at himself. This was bothering him more and more… He walked into the living room. The cd player was on pause, and the tv was on mute. It seemed to be waiting for the family to come back and pick up right where they left off. 

Matt felt dread growing inside him. He dashed up the stairs and into Raven's bedroom. Her crystal pendant lay on the bed discarded. Raven never left without it. He ran into Keiko's room and his knees buckled. Blood smeared the floor, and Keiko's favorite doll lay next to the crimson puddle. The window was open, curtains blowing slightly in the wind. The trail of blood led to the closet. He reluctantly followed it. 

His hand gripped the doorknob. His heart leapt, fearing what he'd find. He opened it, breath catching in his throat. Matt sank down on the floor, tears filling his eyes, grief gripping him. He struggled to his feet, grabbing his cell-phone and calling the police. He fought against the anger and angst raging in his heart. He hoped he had the strength to handle it. 


	7. Ch 7 Dameon

Matt stared at his pictures, eyes burning and memories clouding his mind. Raven and Xeno were still missing… And Kei… he ran his hand through his hair, trying to erase the horrific image from his mind… but he was afraid it would never go away. He couldn't believe it. Kei… dead. He cursed under his breath, swearing to find who had done that to her. She was so young… She had been so full of life when he left for Garden the first time… Matt, refusing to cry, pinned up the picture of the little girl sitting on his lap. It had been taken less than a year ago. He couldn't force himself to look at it. _If I had come sooner… maybe I could've stopped it… and Mom and Xeno… if… then I'll have nothing left. _

Yuki stared at the newspaper in shock and sickness. _Oh no… could that be his little sister? It says that 'a teenage boy found his young sister dead, murdered by a currently unknown killer, in the closet of her room'… so it is him, right? I really need to talk to him…How can he handle this? I'd fall to pieces if I were in his shoes… _She got up, put on her jacket, and hurried to Matt's dorm. 

_You let her die, Matt._

_I did… didn't I? _

_Yes. How can you live with yourself? She believed in you…_

_And I failed her…_

_Yes! You feel it isn't worth the fight, don't you?_

_What do you mean?_

_Exactly what I said, Matt._

_Who are you?!_

_I am your curse… I am your conscience. I am your burden. I am you're truth, seeking to put you out of your pain._

_'Put me out of my pain'? I don't like the sound of that. _

_You know inside your heart that you are alone._

_Mom and Xeno are still alive. They are. Mom would NEVER submit without a fight!_

_You know they're both dead. You're all alone. Alone. No one cares._

_What are you getting at?_

_What I'm getting at… you're horribly alone in an army base with no friends… what's the point in life?_

_I h-have friends! Yuki, and…_

_That girl? Ha! You make me laugh. She's throwing a pity party. All knows her heart lies with some one else._

_Who?_

_I won't reveal that._

_Shut up and leave me alone! Just shut up!_

_Put yourself out of the misery, fool. You want to, and it'll be for the best._

_You mean…?_

_Yes!_

            Matt put his head in his hands, forcing himself to ignore the harsh voice and the throbbing it caused in his head. It felt like someone was driving a nail into his skull. He shook himself, thinking it was ridiculous to even consider what the voice was purposing… right? Of course… It would be insane. He heard a knock on the door and answered it, happy for the distraction. His heart sank when he saw Yuki's smiling face, and his mind grew bitter. His face was in a hard, tight smile as he stepped to one side.__

_Her heart belongs to someone else… Pity Party…_

_No! No!_

_Yes. _

"Hello Matt!" she said cheerfully, coming inside.

"Hi, Yuki…"

"Sup?"

"Nothing." He snapped, then caught himself.

"What's wrong?"

He sighed apologetically, smiling grimly. "Sorry. I haven't had a good day."

_And it's not going to get any better unless you-_

_SHUT UP! _

Yuki felt a wave of power emitting from Matt. It startled her that he would put up such a mental defense. He must've been keeping someone –or some_thing_- out. She wondered briefly what it was before deciding not to press. Yuki's deep eyes seemed to burn a whole in him, attempting to sway him to confide in her. She longed for his trust, though not quite sure why. Duh, they were friends, but she wanted to relieve his affliction. Yuki shot him a concerned look but only received in return a tired, troubled smile. 

"If you're sure."

"I am. Thanks for checking up on me." 

She noticed how his eyes were hidden, shaded from view, and it solidified her conclusion. _It was his little sister…_she realized with sympathy.  

"So… um…" 

"Well, I just wanted to drop by and say hello, 'cause I haven't seen you in a while. I've been really busy studying. I'll be going now. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always willing to listen, alrighty?" Yuki beamed brightly.

"Yeah. See ya." 

She received another small smile from him, and no other emotions were revealed this time than appreciation and happiness. Her heart was in her mouth as she walked out. Behind her she could hear the beginning of 'Boys of Summer' on his guitar and she stopped to listen, even though the door was closed. It was played flawlessly. Yuki shook her head, and as she walked back to her own dorm, her anxious trouble came back heavier and heavier the farther she got. _I have to visit my parents. _She wrinkled her nose distastefully. _Well, it's time to face them! If they don't like me for me then they shouldn't like me at all. She swung open her door and stared at her answering machine. It was blinking, and there were a lot of messages. She clambered over and hit play._

"Yuki, I gotta talk to you, please call me as –soon- as you get in. It's Dameon; you know where to reach me. It's urgent. Thanks."

"Yuki, this is Nakisho… Come home right now! We need you!" She stared suspiciously at nothing in particular at that message. It was her mother. She scowled and then listened to the next one. 

"Things are getting bad, Yuki! Please come to Esthar A.S.A.P.!"

"Yuki, hurry. People are getting killed. Don't let anyone hear these messages, or I'll probably get killed to. I'm not allowed to call anyone. When they confiscated our cells I kept mine from them, so erase this. Please hurry. A lot of lives depend on you. I know you'll pull through. Love always, Dameon."

A chill crept up Yuki's spine. Dameon, her mother, her father, were all trapped, maybe even dead by now. All because she had left to go see Matt. She cursed loudly and grabbed a sword and nunchakus and dashed out the door. 

                                                                        ~*~

Yuki crept into position. There were guards everywhere! How could she possibly get past them all…? She felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She gasped and spun around. It was only Dameon. Her breath caught in her throat. '

"Dameon! What happened here…?"

"Soldiers invaded this entire section of Esthar."

"When?"

"Just about half an hour ago. They swamped us… Defeated are best fighters without hesitation or even a glance back." Dameon shook his head.

"How can I help then?" Yuki asked desperately. 

"You, Yuki, are more powerful than a lot of the people here combined. You forget, we never went to a military base to train."

She looked into his deep green eyes, but her fear remained a solid mass preventing her from moving. What ifs where racing through her head.

"You can do this. I know you can. Maybe I haven't seen you in a year or two, but I still know that you're the best, Yuki." He smiled at her, but the grim situation made it impossible to believe that it was genuine. 

"Dameon…" _Here's the guy who's been my friend for years, asking me to help the town I grew up in. He has faith in me. What if I fail him? I used… to like him so much. I trusted him, and now he's trusting me. I can't just back off. I can't just let him down. But… I can't fight so many soldiers at once! I could only wish to ever be –half- that powerful… Her cheeks turned red and she turned away, not wanting to meet his eyes. _

"Yuki, we can do it…. Together."

She debated with herself for another second. 

"let's do it." She spun on her heel, drew her weapon, and ran into the midst of battle. 


	8. Explosion

            Yuki fought fiercely and showed no mercy. Dameon battled by her side, glowering at the enemy soldiers.

"They're everywhere! There are too many!" he yelled, but regardless he continued to fight. 

A sword nearly fell upon him, but Yuki thrust her sword in the way. Sparks flashed and Yuki went back to fighting another soldier. The sounds of battle enveloped them. There were screams of fear and pain and cries of triumph, guns firing, swords clashing… Echoes that resounded in Yuki's mind. She shook her head and defeated many soldiers… but didn't make a dent in the balance of power. She sucked in a breath as a spell exploded close to her. 

"Be careful!" Dameon instructed, ducking and running over to her.

"I am, Da-…" her breath caught in her throat. She was speechless for a moment as she clung to Dameon. There was an explosion, and there were more nearer and nearer to them…

"They're setting off bombs! Run!" Yuki commanded him. Another detonation rocked the ground, so hard and so fast Dameon had to grab her arm to keep her balanced. 

"You run. I have to find your parents… and mine." He dashed off before she could stop him. 

Yuki almost ran after him. But something stopped her. A feeling, possibly… maybe impulse or common sense.  So she held her tongue and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. There was a roar and her head snapped up. A huge black dragon was soaring over her. Matt was visible sitting on it. His arm was outstretched and she took it. He pulled her up and she scrambled into position behind him. 

 She looked back to see Dameon running as hard as he could. From the height they were at he looked like an action figure. Yuki's scream was lost in the roaring wind as a bomb exploded and Dameon was lost from view. There wasn't a doubt in her mind… he didn't have a chance. She had Matt in an iron grip as she buried her head in his shoulder. The word that comes to mind when anyone saw her must have been devastated. _I let him die. If I had convinced him to come with me… Oh… No, Dameon… My Dameon is gone. Dead…_

It seemed to take a lifetime to get back to Garden. She jumped off and started to run away. Matt put a hand on her arm gently. His eyes were shaded, but Yuki could tell he was concerned. An unanswered understanding lingered in the air. She pulled away from him at first, yanking her arm away from him. He made no move to stop her. She stumbled back, millions of thoughts exploding in her head.

"Matt…"

"Come on." He said softly, motioning to her. "The news'll be out soon, and when they hear you witnessed so much they'll swamp you. Let's go to the dorms."

Without argument she followed him. He led her to the dorms and into his room. 

"Now… tell me what happened." He said calmly. 

She burst into tears, feelings bubbling inside her. Matt sat down on his bed and pulled her into his lap with no objections from her. Yuki didn't speak for a long time, just sitting there, head resting on his shoulder. When she finally did say anything, her voice was quiet. 

"My friend needed me. My home needed me. So I went and fought for them. There were bombs set off… they killed so many people. I'm probably all alone now… Dameon had to have died, and I doubt my parents could escape that."

"You're not alone."

"I'm not…?"

"You have me."

"Thankyou."

He didn't reply, sitting there thoughtfully, intently, arms around her waist. Neither of them moved until Yuki looked at her watch. The tears had long since abated. 

"It's 9 o'clock." She got up and stretched. 

"Alright."

"I'd better be going."

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll always be there… okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."

"Welcome."

"…G'night, Matt. Sweet dreams." 

She waved before walking out the door, shutting it quietly behind her. Yuki made her way quickly down the hall. She had collapsed on her bed before she noticed that there was something in her pocket. She stuck her hand in and drew out a small box. Inside sat his class ring. She put it on, a slight smile on her face, before she submitted herself to the inevitable nightmares sure to come. 


	9. Perfect II

            Matt scribbled all over his notebook page. He hadn't seen Yuki yet, and he was dying to talk to her. The black gel ink pen twirled between his fingers. He closed his eyes, wondering where Raven and Xeno were. Just thinking about it made him feel sick. He wanted suddenly to run away from Garden and find them. They were his family… and he wanted to help them. He resolved to leave that very night, seeing as it was Friday. As soon as the bell rang Matt dashed off to his dorm. He gathered all his Gil and his weapon (which happened to be a -big- sword….) and went to talk to some one who might know something… Rage. 

**A woman sat on the hard, cold concrete floor, the moonlight caressing her black hair… at least, the moonlight that could get through. There were bars of cold metal over the window. She had her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them. Her head lay on her knees, but the fire in her eyes could be seen. The view shifted and Yuki couldn't see her anymore. **

**"Are we ever gonna get outta here?" the woman asked softly. She was hardly audible. The vision locked onto her again.**

**"…Yeah." It was a guy's voice, but he didn't sound too confident in what he said.**

**"Kei." Whispered the woman, lost by memories.**

**The sight was blurred with tears. A horror gripped Yuki. Keiko. Keiko… that was Matt's little sister's name! Did that mean…?**

**Suddenly the woman looked up and directly at where Yuki would be standing if she was actually there. Her deep eyes bore into Yuki.**

**"Matt has the GF pendent." She stated, never taking her eyes off of Yuki.**

**"I know…" the man sighed. **

**"If only some one could tell Rage or Matt where we were." The woman said insistently. Yuki knew what she meant. But how did the woman see her…?**

**"Yeah, if you could please tell one of the two that Raven and Xeno are here… it would be greatly appreciated." The woman smiled. **

**"Who are you talking to?" the man inquired.**

**"No one." The woman shook her head, but the smiled and nodded at Yuki quickly before the man could notice.**

            What brought Yuki back from her dream-like state was a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned around and gasped, throwing her arms around none other than Dameon. He was very, very beat up, but alive. He smiled, running his hand through her hair.

"You're okay!" Yuki exclaimed, never letting him go back pulling back slightly to look at him. 

"Yeah… are you?"

"Yes, now that I know you're okay."

She blushed happily… her stomach formed a tight knot. He slowly reached back and pulled his class ring off.

"Yuki… when I was about to die, I thought so much about you… and I realized just how much you mean to me. Will you go out with me?"

_Oh no… God… I dunno! I'm dating Matt! And finally when I give up on Dameon he asks me…! Crap…_

"Can I think on that one, Dameon?" she asked quietly, realizing she had forgotten to wear Matt's class ring that day in the first place. 

"Sure. Just… please get back to me soon, okay?" Dameon hugged her. 

"Alright."

"Thanks."

"Just one question… why, Dameon?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you like me?"

"You're the greatest… I mean, you're beautiful, you've got the greatest personality… what is there to explain?"

"Alright… just wondering." _I have to go talk to Matt… I want to ask him why he cares. I was so afraid he'd be a shallow jerk… Now I know Dameon's not, but I still have to ask Matt… And I wanna catch him and tell him about what I saw. _

"I gotta go, Yuki…" frowned Dameon. "I'll see ya soon, alright?"

"Sure Dameon." Yuki was lost in thought. He kissed her on the cheek and jogged off. Her face turned blood-red and she ran off to find Matt.

There was a knock on his dorm door just as Matt was about to leave. He answered it, frowning. He had on his jacket, gil in his pocket, and 100 deaths junctioned to his sword. He looked a bit bewildered to see her. He quickly wiped the resentful, 'I'm-on-a-mission' look from his face and grinned.

"Yo Yuki."

"Hello. Looks like I came just in time, huh?" she smiled.

"Yup. C'mon in." he stepped aside. "Whassup?"

"That's why I came to see you… I wanted to ask you something."

"Fire away."

"How come you like me…?"

He blushed violently. "Um… Cause… cause you're wonderful, I mean…" his face turned even more red. "I think you're the most amazing person I ever met, so…"

"Alright." _Wow, that doesn't help me make a decision… So who do I like more…? _"Sorry to bother you… you seemed to be on your way somewhere… Where were you going?"

"To talk to Rage Tilmitt, my uncle."

"Okay. Sorry to inconvenience your timing… I apologize if I made you late or anything. See ya, Matt."

"Bye Yuki…" _Geeze she's acting strange today…_

Without another word she hurried down the hallway. It was already to late when Yuki realized she hadn't given him the message of Raven and Xeno. She gasped and went back, banging on his dorm door. There was no reply. Yuki went inside, hoping that Matt wouldn't later notice. She wished she had written down his cell phone number, cause she had memorized it at one point… she picked up an azure-blue leather book. Yuki started to read some of the things written in long, messy handwriting on the creamy white pages. 

Perfect II 

By: Matthew Leonhart

Written as a continuation of the life of Raven Leonhart, the novel she wrote titled 'Perfect'

One day fate brought two souls together. One, a boy without a purpose. He felt that there was no reason for his existence, and he was to the verge of his limits. He was torn up inside, though he let no one see it. Matthew Leonhart went to Garden, a military base. He hoped he would find his purpose there. He didn't, and one day he was nearly on his suicide mission… and then he met the girl who changed his life.

Her name was Yuki Kaida. She was the most brilliant, amazing, beautiful person he had ever seen. She took Matt's breath away and pulled him back from the depth of darkness without even knowing it… she was his rescuer. But he wasn't her knight in shining armor, despite how he tried. Her heart belonged to someone else… Matt, on an attempt to escape Garden and the woman who'd stolen his heart, tried to run away, back home with his family. Now that he was no longer walking the line of insanity, he realized just how much he missed them. But he found the most horrible thing waiting for him as he arrived. 

His family consisted of Raven, Xeno, and Keiko. Raven and Xeno had adopted him after his own father had abandoned him. Keiko was his little sister. She was a cute little kid, and Matt liked her a lot. But when he went into the house silence covered it like a blanket. He ran up the stairs, heart hammering, into first his parent's room, then Keiko's. The whole house was empty. Matt slowly opened Keiko's closet and found a memory that haunts him to this very day. 

Keiko was inside, dead. Her face was contorted into an expression of utter fear. Every bone in her body had been broken and she had obviously been through so much… He couldn't help but blame himself. What if he had been there? He could've stopped whoever had done this… Matt suddenly vowed to kill the person, a long, painful death like the one that Keiko had been forced to endure. His parents might still be alive. That and the memory of Yuki was all that kept him from shooting himself then and there. 

Matt returned to Garden, having no where else to go. Yuki seemed to pop up where ever he went, and soon enough she was a big part of his life again. But he began hearing something… a voice. It wouldn't leave him alone, regardless of how much he told it to shut up. It told him Yuki was false, that he had nothing to live for. And if it was not for Yuki then he would've believed it. But soon he went to talk to Yuki, finally having gathered enough courage to ask her out. 

She wasn't there. Fear gripped Matt's heart when he found out that she had went straight into a war-torn city. He took out his mother's GF pendant and called upon Bahaumut, King of Dragons. Matt rode to Esthar on Bahaumut, fearing he'd arrive too late. Fortunately he got there with only seconds to spare. Yuki was running from the city, which was riddled with screams and the combustion of explosives. He reached out to her, thousands of dire thoughts racing through his mind, overpowering the voice. She grasped Matt's hand and he pulled her up. But she was crying as they flew away. It broke my heart to see her cry. It turned out to happen that Dameon, who had been her best friend, had been killed during the attack. Her parents had as well. I brought her back to Garden and reconciled to go find the only one who was close enough to Raven to be able to locate her, cause they were brother and sister after all… Rage Tilmitt. 

            Yuki shook her head… emotions churned inside of her. She made one pledge… to find Matt and help him. 


	10. Crossing the Threshold

            Matt ran at top speed to Rage's door. He knocked quickly, frowning. He could almost hear Raven's irritable voice. _'Psht, Patience is a virtue? Patients are for –doctors- thank you very much!' _Suddenly the door burst open. There stood his cousin Nina. Her medium length hair was in two French braids. She beamed at him.

"Matt! S'been a while. How're you?"

"Alright, you?" Matt couldn't help but smile brightly. That was the effect 13 year old Nina had on most people.

"Pretty good. C'mon in." she stepped aside and Matt strode in. 

"NINA!" yelled Rage from the basement.

"Wasn't me!" she automatically called back.

"Oh, yeah right, you sonova butt…." He sighed, clomping up the stairs. He saw Matt. "Geeze! Long time no see Matt!"

In Matt's opinion, Rage was probably the coolest uncle that ever existed. He snowboarded, illustrated books for a living, and pretty much anything you named he's done it. Matt could confide anything in Rage, who could keep a secret.

"It's great to see ya." Matt grinned. 

"You to!"

Instead of saying, 'Oh, you've been growing like a weed!' Rage tended to say things like, 'hehehe, I heard you got a girlfriend… who is she? What's she look like? You'd better hope she's not an idjit…!' he'd smile evilly. ((a/n: like thisà =) hehe, incase u were interested in e-smilies)) He was straight forward and didn't care how school was going… he cared about if you wanted to go rollerblading with him. 

"So, um… I wish I hadn't of come on such grim matters, but…"

"Raven and Xeno." Rage replied before Matt could even finish.

"Yep."

"Come sit down." Rage lead him into a huge, cerulean living room with a cream-colored leather couch and loveseat. He sank down onto one as did Matt.

"Er…"

"Matt… I dunno. I can't… I mean, I kinda lost my powers. Heck, I was loosin' 'em the year Raven met Xeno! She was so magically powerful that her favorite leisurely pastime was telepathically picking me up by the shirt collar and kickin' me outta her room and slammin' her door behind me. Does –that- tell you anything?"

"Oh."

"I'm sorry I can't help… not in that aspect at least."

Matt winced. He had seen the look on Rage's face before, and he didn't like it. 

                                                                        ~*~

Yuki sat across from a tall, blue eyed girl with red hair and freckles. The girl sat, observing Yuki's expression, one long slender leg crossed over the other. Yuki looked at her, unsure.

"That's really where Rage's house is?"

Tabitha, a good friend of Yuki's, nodded solemnly. "Yep. But be careful."

"Huh? What's that mean?" 

"… Nothin' in particular. Just a warning. Good luck. And have you decided yet?"

". No."

"Ah, okay then. Remember to follow your heart, not your head."

"Is it your personal job to confuzzle me?" Yuki sighed. 

Tabitha grinned. "You bet. That's half the fun of being with you! Now go find your boyfriend." She gave a nonchalant wave of her hand and stood up, stretching. "See ya soon Yuki."

"…Yeah." 

She nodded, deciding to take the train to the city and walking to Rage's house from there. Yuki hurried to her dorm and unlocked it. There was a boquet of 12 red roses and a small note. 

Yuki,

Please get back to me soon… I love you, but I had to leave to sort some things out in Esthar. Sorry!

            Lots of Love,

                  Dameon

She sighed, picking up her jacket. _What do I –do-?! This is so confusing. My good friend whom I've known forever or a boy I met by dumb luck and only for a little while. How do I figure this out? It seems like Dameon's the one for me, but Matt's sweet and perfect… What did Tabitha say again? 'Follow your heart, not your head…' but they both say the same thing! I just… urgh… Maybe… I… I… _She banged her fist down hard on the table, breathing quickly, hand shaking. _I don't understand! _She took a shuddering breath and ran out the door.

                                                ~*~

"Hello?" Yuki asked wearily to a little girl. 

"May I help you?" she had a large, innocent beam on her face.

"Is Matt here?"

"Nah, he just left. Who're you? I'll take a message if you want. C'min!" Nina nodded and lead the way into the living room. 

A woman in her mid to late thirties sat on the couch. She had on a lime green summer dress, showing off her dark complexion, and she was very thin. She wore small silver hoop earrings and light wood sandals. Her hair was dark and in a twisted bun, and had the expression of an eager teenager. She stood up and grinned. Yuki smiled nervously.

"My name's Star." the woman smiled happily. Yuki had trouble believing she was older than 21.  "Who're you?"

"Yuki Kaida." She replied hesitantly.

"Hm… lemme see… I think I heard Matt mention you. He really thinks highly of you. You're looking for him." She added and nodded. "He left about half an hour ago with Rage to save Raven and Xeno."  
 "…How'd you know?" she asked, aghast.

"Ah, I've always been good at guessing things." Star shrugged, grinning. "Really winds up Rage when I tell him what he got me for my birthday. But you if you wanna catch up to Matt… Yuki…" she trailed off. "Yuki, I really don't think you should go after him."

"Why not?" Yuki asked defiantly. 

"Fate's got a weird way about it…" shaking her head, Star gazed moodily at the floor.

"What do you mean?!" she was infuriated. Everyone knew what was going on but –her-! Tabitha knew, and now Star! 

"Yuki… if you do decide to go, then the only way you can get there is by warping. It's not a region known to anyone around here. You'll find a path that has a town spaced halfway through it, at the beginning, at the end, and one that is the most treacherous of all. It is located where the Earth meets the Stars… Don't get to close to the blackness. The darkness will overwhelm you… it's happened many times before. That's why all of the people that know of the other world here are gone. They've been sucked into the void of shadows. Rage found out by an old scroll he found. No one else could make sense of it. It said 'Where the sun and the moon, the velvet and the dusk meet, there will lay the prison of hearts, the mages lay there alone, left to die by the human race. When the treachery is undone, the abandonment reversed, then the Hero shall emerge and fight for the guardian and the mourning bird. Fate, balancing on the whispering wind, shall decide if the Little Dragon shall follow him…'…" she did not finish. 

"What next?" asked Yuki impatiently.

"I don't remember." Star replied abruptly. "But Rage understood it somehow with Raven's help. Mages were spread unevenly through families, skipping siblings and sometimes generations. Rage realized, after doing research, that besides Raven's sorceress powers, she was a mage. One of the few mages that escaped to this world. It was her father who was the mage, though in his lifetime he told no one. So he fitted more of the puzzle and had their magic connect at dusk, where the sky is 'velvet and dusk' when the sky was dark but the sun could still be seen setting. The moon was up very slightly, but the sun was still barely up. His magic has been completely and totally gone since then… But then a threshold opened up… Rage journeyed inside, instructing Raven to stay outside. Rage realized only after it was too late that the Hero of Mages was Matt. The 'mourning bird' was Raven and the 'Guardian' was Xeno. He knew that he had to let Matt go over and save Raven and Xeno, but insisted upon going with him. So here we sit. No are you up to date?"

"…Yeah. But I'm going after Matt –right now-. Please show me the way."

"Are you positive about this?" Star had an anguished look on her face. 

"Yes." Replied Yuki determinedly. 

"Follow me." Whispered Star, leading her outside. "Matt left me this. I think it will open the threshold." She held up a sparkling pendant. There was a noiseless flash of light and a hole appeared, as if a seam in reality had ripped. 

"Do I go in?" whispered Yuki.

"Yeah. But be careful, though, Yuki, okay? Promise?"

"Mm hm."

"And take this. You'll need it." Star handed her a sword, long and slightly worn. Without warning Star gave her a hug and nodded. "Good luck!" she brushed the tears out her eyes and running off.  Yuki held her breath, closed her eyes, and stepped over the threshold. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

((a/n: thanks to kool kaizer (sp?!) and Selphie 108 for reading and supporting Perfect 2. And… I'm debating whether I want to continue or not. Suddenly acting for everyone has become really hard, and writing even a 1,000 word chapter is a stretch. So I might quit… it really depends on a burst of inspiration and what everyone else thinks. Aighty! ~Sefie))


	11. Power's Possession

**            Raven looked up, fire burning in her eyes at the figure looming over her. There was a cold, merciless laugh.   
 "So you think you can escape, stupid girl?" the man cackled. He kicked Raven hard in the gut. Raven had been chained, and there was nothing she could do except to hold her head high and look him indignantly in the eyes. **

**"Don't you call her stupid again." Came a hard voice from the door. The man looked up and smiled a horrible, evil smile. **

**"So the prophecy has been fulfilled. For your part, at least. You've played right into my hands in all your senseless stupidity."  **

**"Let her go!" roared the boy from the door. **

**Raven yelled in anguish as the sword plunged through his chest. The boy stumbled and slumped, and Raven tried to use her sorceress powers to heal him.  Yuki, who was seeing through another's eyes, felt her heart thump and she wanted to jump at and strangle the man. He had just impaled Matt. **

**"Now, I have business elsewhere." The man smiled cruelly and disappeared.**

** Matt squeezed his eyes shut, and with a sickening sound the sword was pulled from his body. Rage looked up with a look of absolute fury. Black and silver sparks danced over the wound where the sword had been, stopping the pool of blood but not able to heal it over. Raven sighed with relief that her spell had worked. Matt staggered to his feet and wiped the blood from the edge of his mouth. Suddenly a monster loomed up behind him. Matt spun around, eyes wide, and Raven screamed.   **

Yuki gasped and reeled back. The sense of fury, anguish and fear came over her, overwhelmingly powerful. She –had- to get to the dungeon! She put her head down and pumped her legs as fast as she could force them to go. She felt herself running into strong arms and looked up, face red out of embarrassment. But she beamed joyously. 

"Dameon! How did you get here?" she asked incredulously. 

"Long story." He smiled. "What's the rush?"

"I have to get to… a friend. He's hurt." She said urgently.   
 Dameon stared at her. "You must be mistaken, Yuki. There are no monsters in this land, no evil. Just mages." 

"Well then the mages hurt my friend." Raven demanded. 

Dameon's eyes clouded over icily. "You're accusing us of hurting one of your friends?" he asked angrily.

"You're a mage?" Yuki stared at Dameon.

"So what if I am?" Dameon shrugged. "It makes no difference."

"You can't be. The mages are dead." Yuki gazed him, confused.

"You need proof?" Dameon held out his hand. A small flame licked it and engulfed it. He squeezed his hand shut, opened it again, and there was no flames or even a burn mark. "There. Besides, who's to say we weren't growing and prospering again in our own land? How do you know about us anyway?"

"I've… I've read things about the mages, and I've heard things." Yuki said evasively. 

"You have one of our scrolls?" asked Dameon tensely. 

"I don't, but…"

"Who does? Those blood traitors! Feigning our decent, denouncing our linage! Betraying us, leaving us alone to face the Dark Void and die!" Dameon raged with such abruptness and ferocity that it made Yuki jump. 

"Well, I'm a human. Does that mean that –I'm- a blood traitor?" asked Yuki coolly. 

"No." Dameon's onslaught of anger stopped unexpectedly. He grabbed her hands. "You're different, Yuki. I can make you the Queen of all the mages. We can rule over them all together. We'll be the most powerful people in the world, just you and me! We'll rule over the mages and the humans, and make the mortals pay. We'll be the most powerful pair to exist." He fantasized, trying to make Yuki a tempting offer.  

"I already have a boyfriend." Yuki pulled away disgustedly. "And I would never go on a mass-murder of humans. I –am- one."

"Fine." Dameon snarled, grabbing her arm and lifting her off the ground. "Then I'll hand you over to my master." 

 Yuki screamed. "Let go of me!"

"I still love you, Yuki. You have till we get to the dungeon to reconsider it, okay?" Dameon said angrily.

"Oh, just let go of me you bastard!" Yuki yelled, kicking him.

"I was being generous, too soft." Dameon shook his head. "It's a shame things had to turn out this way." 

He whistled and an inhuman screech filled the air. A giant black dragon with demonic eyes landed beside them. It was Bahaumut, Yuki realized with a horror filled jolt, but he was possessed. The dragon snapped harshly at Yuki and Dameon threw her on before getting on himself. Yuki felt like retching. Bahaumut belonged to the mages now. That meant that Matt was either unconscious or he wasn't alive to stop them from stealing the GF pendent. She clutched him feverishly and cried all the way to the dungeon. 

~*~

Raven looked to Matt. He was laying in the far corner, chained up like she was, eyes blank and distant. Rage struggled helplessly to get over to him. Raven looked up at him desperately.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked quietly. 

"He's poisoned!" Rage cried. "He's gonna die if no one can reach him soon. This is Jenson-weed poison. There's no way I could get the antidote here, but…"

"Rage, if you think I'm gonna let you die, you're wrong. There has to be a way to save him and everyone else be alright, to." 

Xeno, who had been beaten so bad he could hardly move, stirred slightly. "I'll do it." He whispered. 

"Stop it! I can heal him if I can combine an Esuna with my magic." Insisted Raven.

"ENOUGH!" roared a guard outside. "The boy will die. And I will make sure of that." 

He came into the room and put a bangle on Raven, restricting her powers. She tried violently to do anything to stop him. She cursed at him and even attempted biting him when he got to close. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and spit on the floor, but successfully there was a large red mark on the soldier's arm. He bellowed curses and without warning threw the javelin in his other hand. It hit it's mark and it was flung into Xeno, who slumped, his eyes still open in a blank stare. Raven screamed and the bangle shattered. Her rage and anger and loss were so fierce that her powers exploded in a blinding flash and the chains binding her disintegrated to mere dust. Her dark eyes narrowed, now black, and a burst of magic was hurled at the soldier, who screamed in pain and fell to the floor, twitching. Rage squirmed. He had seen this only once before… but he remembered it quite clearly. 

_((Flashback*))_

_Rage approached Raven apprehensively. He lowered his gaze sadly._

_"Squall has been assassinated." _

_Squall was their older brother, who had moved away a long time ago, and at the time that Squall had been shot, he was 28 and Raven and Rage were about 20. Raven's eyes narrowed and an eerie glow surrounded her. _

_"Selphie!" yelled Rage fearfully, because their mother knew more about sorceresses then he did. . _

_But Raven was obviously not even in control anymore. She wasn't possessed by another sorceress… her powers themselves had possessed her. She raised her arms towards the sky then slammed them down. Thunder and fire mixed crashed into the ground, and when everything had cleared away, Raven was on her knees in the middle of it all. There were two tiny circles where not one blade of grass had been scorched. The one that Raven was in and the one that Rage was in. Everything else was black. Raven looked up, exhaustion overwhelming her._

_"I'm sorry." She whispered before swaying and falling over._

_((end of flashback*)) _

Rage shook his head. "RAVEN! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Raven crumpled on the floor, and Rage tried hard to call upon the slightest inkling of power inside him to break the chains. But it was no use. A soldier snuck up behind him, having heard the noise, and slammed a piece of metal against Rage's head. Instantly he blacked out. 

~*~

((a/n: thanks to Evelaunce and Selphie108 for the inspiration to continue. I dedicate this story to them, seeing as I have no other way to thank them. (waves at Evelaunce and Selphie108*) thanks so much guys! I'm sorry this took so long, for a while I was sick and then I got huge writers block. So I promise the next chapter will be better! Thanks to everyone who reads my stories, ~Sefie Lynne tilmitt~)) 


	12. Numb

                Yuki curled up in a miserable little ball, the ropes digging painfully into her wrists and ankles. There were moans all around her in the dark cell. She shivered. They were people who were suffering, and they had probably been there a lot longer. She sucked in a shuddering breath as something cold as ice touched her hand lightly.

"Sorry." Came an apologetic female voice. It was soft and quiet, gentle and timid. "There's not a lot of room to move in here."

"It's okay." Yuki replied. 

"My name is Laura." The girl said. 

"Yuki." She replied. "What are you in here for?"

"I argued with the other mages that not all humans were bad." 

"That was brave. I'm impressed." Yuki smiled slightly. 

"Thankyou. Why're you in here?" 

And so Yuki began her story, starting from when she had met Matt.

~*~

Rage sat with Raven leaning against him on one side and Matt unconscious on the other. Across the room, Rage had taken the cloak from the soldier and laid it over Xeno. Raven's face was streaked with tears but she hadn't spoken a word since she had been possessed. Rage sighed and closed his eyes, keeping himself from being disrespectful and gazing at Raven. He knew she hated crying…. Raven was just so amazed that a simple spear was able to kill her Xeno… 

((*flashback*))

_Raven felt her blood run cold. She cried out and ran over to her injured friend. Xeno was bleeding, lying on the ground. The GF. Her GF. Xeno. _

_"Oh my God." she curaga-ed him frantically._

_"I thought you wanted me out of your life." Odin… no, Xeno… Xeno said softly. Raven felt the blood rise in her face. _

_"No no no no. I did NOT mean that, and you know it! Xeno!" _

_Xeno/Odin laid his head down on the pavement. _

_"Raven."_

_"Don't you dare die on me!" Raven's eyes filled with tears. "What did they do to you?" _

_"They have shot me. You know how badly injured I am, Raven." _

_"Well, ya gotta pull through! Ya did last time! Odin, listen to me!" Raven got down on her hands and knees and looked him in the eye fiercely. "NO!" _

_"You think life should be simple, fair. But it is not. You will never truly be without me, because I will always be in your heart. Isn't that right?" _

_"Yes. I'm not ready to be all alone again. I took you for granted as Xeno. You WERE Xeno, right?" _

_"Yes. I thought you would never figure it out." Xeno chuckled softly to himself. _

_"KILL THAT BEAST!" roared a Galbadian Soldier behind them. _

_"NO!" she screamed back. _

_"It is your duty Raven. Kill me and be done with it. There is no other option. Just make it fast and painless." The look in Xeno/Odin's eyes sent tears streaming down her face. _

_"How could you say that? You know very well you're my best friend, I could and would never do anything to hurt you!" she burst out. An idea struck her. "Get inside my crystal!" _

_"I'm sorry, Raven." _

_"You were the most hard-headed GF I'd ever seen! Don't give up on me! You'd've never given up before! Xeno, SNAP OUT OF IT! I won't let you get hurt!" _

_"Raven!__ What's going on? Are you okay?" Rage sprinted over towards her and knelt beside her, concern totally obvious. _

_"I'm fine. But he's not. Don't you recognize him? It's Odin! Xeno!" _

_"Ha ha.__ Funny, sis. Seriously. Let's just get this over with." _

_"I AM serious! I won't let you kill him." Raven blocked Xeno/Odin from any line of fire. _

_"Raven… so that's why there was no record of Xeno." Rage helped Raven heal Xeno/Odin. _

_"Oh my."__ Star gasped. _

_She stood behind them. Yuri did not speak, but he put a strong, comforting hand on Raven's shoulder. That said plenty. _

_"Don't you die on me Xeno." Raven whispered. _

_A glimmer of hope shown on the brink of this nightmarish darkness.__ Silver sparks flew around Xeno/Odin and he slowly faded away. Raven held her GF pendant close._

_"Hang on, Odin." _

 ((*flashback ends*))

Raven had been what, 17 at the time? (a/n: if you're confused then read Perfect! You should've anyways if you're reading this right now = P) If Xeno had escaped death so easily twice before, then why couldn't he survive a little spear? He had survived being shot by soldiers and being decapitated by Seifer. So why couldn't he survive a trivial javelin? Rage knew how hard it must've been on Raven… In the past month she had lost her only daughter, her husband, and her adopted son was dying. Rage looked over at Raven and saw her eyes were squeezed shut. 

"Make it stop." She whispered.

 It was the first time she'd spoken… tears were in her eyes, on her face, and her voice even seemed to be made of them. Rage frowned sympathetically. Even though Rage was younger by 2 years, he still played the big brother role when he had to. He shuddered. He had only been forced into that role maybe 6 times in his entire life. And then he knew Raven was in bad condition. 

"Whaddya mean?" asked Rage softly.

"I close my eyes and it's –there-. Matt nearly being slashed to death and poisoned by that monster, Keiko being tortured, Xeno being killed… It's there. It's in my head… and it won't go away." 

"I'm sorry, I don't know how to help you…" Rage sighed, feeling worthless. 

"Just make it go away." Raven murmured almost inaudibly. She buried her head in his shoulder. He sighed…. This was a race against time…. And it seemed they were losing.

~*~

(a/n: please forgive the vagueness of this chapter…. Lolz. I got distracted while doing it, and it's short… the next chappy is gonna be LONG, and probably the last… so.. yeah. Thanks for reading! ~Sefie) 


	13. Reunited

            Yuki closed her eyes, furious and trying her hardest. _If I can't use my powers for this, then I shouldn't have them at all! Lemme see… Focus now, Yuki… focus! _She felt Laura's hand on her shoulder and power surged through her. Suddenly there was an image as vivid as could be right before her. _Thankyou, Laura! Now… hm… Show me where Matt is. _

**            The familiar sensation and she was there. She felt somewhat sick, probably because she had used a lot more energy trying to see the present rather than people's memories. She would've let out a gasp had she been in her human state at the time. Matt was slumped on one side of Rage, Raven on the other. The view shifted and she saw a dead guard, his eyes glassy and open. She felt like she was gonna be sick… Then a cloak covering something up… She was terrified to see a hand protruding from beneath it. **_Now… show me how to get there… _**Yuki felt a strong jerk somewhere around her navel and she was showed the inside of the cell she and many others were in. It slowly guided her through a long dark corridor, and then into a filthy, grimy old room with about twenty some-odd doors. An odd sensation went through her as her vision went right through the door and it showed the same scene with Raven, Rage, and Matt. **

"Yuki." Said Laura, her soft voice somewhat sharp with concern now. 

"I know how to get to Matt and Raven and Rage." _And Xeno was with them to… and the hand from under the cloak thingy… That must've been… _Yuki's head whirled at the realization. Another fresh wave of panic hit her. _And Matt slumped against Rage like he was injured gravely or even… _"We have to hurry!"

Her fastenings that held her stationary snapped like brittle twigs as her power welled up within her once again. She looked over and saw that Laura was looking at her with a look somewhere between surprise and fright. 

"Yuki…" she said apprehensively as Yuki approached her to unfasten her bindings. 

"Hm?"

"… In your world you know what sorceresses are, right?"

"Yeah.  I go to a school to assassinate them. Why?"

"Do you realize what your power is?"

"Er… No."

"You're linage is of sorceresses… the most powerful sorceresses."

"So am I?"

"…No, only a few things that aren't sorceress power related are obvious in you… Who's your mother?"

"Nakisho Kaida."

"…As I thought. You know who she is, don't you?"

"…Whatcha mean?"

"She's the daughter of Ultemecia."

"ARE YOU TELLING ME—"

"Calm down!" hissed Laura. "You said yourself we had to hurry, and this is no time to dawdle about your powers or your linage! People's lives are depending on us! Now c'mon!" she grabbed Yuki's arm gently and dragged her to the door. "Now these are mage-proof. They are immune to our powers. They aren't, however…"

"Yuki-proof!" Yuki grinned deviously and rather evilly. 

"Or idiot-proof." Laura laughed. 

"Let's hit it!" 

Yuki thrust her arm out, and it glowed with power. The door swung open. They found themselves face to face with a huge, muscular guard. Although powerful, though, he looked about as smart as a blown-out light bulb. He stood there stupidly for a minute before he opened his mouth to shout and reached for his sword. 

"ES-" He bellowed, but got no further. Yuki had drop-kicked him hard, and the air was knocked out of him. He looked dumbfounded that he had been hit. "… Hey… You hit me!" he stammered.

"In the words of the preps, DUH!" she slammed the dull end of the sword into the side of his head and he drooped to the floor.  

Laura grinned. "Even in this world I know what preps are…"

"Yep." Nodded Yuki, a look of determination on her face. "Now let's go." She ran as fast as she could until she got to the grimy gritty room with so many doors. She looked extremely distraught. "I can't remember which door it was!"

"Kuso…" muttered Laura under her breath. "Well, there's one solution to that… wha's his name again? Ragen or something like that?"

"Rage."

"RAGE!" Laura said loudly.

There was a rustle of movement inside one of the cells and a loud _thud. _And a curse. Then…

"Hello?" came a tired voice from inside.

"Yep." Laura beamed, "Right one."

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Y'know yer a redneck when…"  She drawled. 

"Oh shuddup." 

"Here goes…" Yuki threw out her arm again and the door flew open with such force it hit whoever was behind it hard in the face. 

"(&%^&&*_(" (a/n: that translates to something that would raise the rating of this story to R) Rage said loudly, holding his nose with both hands. It was bleeding profusely.

"I'm so sorry!" cried Yuki.

"S'okay." Rage said gruffly, still holding his nose.

"Here… I'm a healing mage, I'll help…" Laura reached to the soft brown leather belt of her royal purple tunic and pulled of a bag. "Special healing herbs… Here, put these on it and it'll stop the bleeding and numb it…"

"So you got my message?" came a soft female voice from the shadows in the meantime. "Thankyou." 

"Raven? Where's Matt?!" Yuki cried, panicked. 

"He's over here…" 

Raven motioned to herself, where Matt's head was on her lap. His eyes were open but lifeless, and his breathing was getting more and more shallow. Yuki shoved her hand over her mouth and tears came to her eyes. It took all she had not to udder a scream. He was dying. She had almost come too late... Yuki held her breath, dreading the answer to her questions.  

"Raven… what happened? Will he be okay?"

"Dunno… he's been poisoned with Jenson Weed." She said, her voice wavering but remaining calm. "He came to rescue us… and he was attacked and such and…" she sighed, reliving painful memories. 

Raven pressed her hands to her eyes, little stars exploding in her head and the image of Xeno with a spear in him vivid in her mind.  

"Yuki," Laura said instantly. "He needs attention now…" she dropped on her knees beside him and pulled out another pouch. She tore off a strip from the hem of her long tunic and covered it in some sweet smelling herbs. "Where's the wound?"

Raven wordlessly pointed at the scar running from the bottom left side of his face to the top right. It was bleeding slightly, but that was just an external effect… Laura quickly ran her hand over his face and his eyes were shut. Matt did not move. She cursed and put the herb-covered cloth over the wound and started working on another concoction.  She pulled a small bottle from a bag and started mixing powders and plants with it. Soon she put a stopper on the top and shook it, the contents emitting an eerie soft blue glow. Laura pulled out the stopper and put the bottle to Matt's mouth. It slid down his throat and still he didn't move.

"Whew… I'm glad that's okay now. It'll be a few minutes, but he should be okay. I'm glad we got here when we did…" Laura rocked back on her heels.

"So he's okay now?" asked Raven and Yuki almost in unison.

"Yeah."

Rage, whose nose had stopped bleeding long ago, grinned and threw his arms around Raven, who hugged him happily back. There was a low moan and Matt's blue-gray eyes opened. They looked misty and distant and confused, but that didn't change the fact that he was alive. Yuki uttered something between a squeal of delight and a sigh of relief and grabbed Matt, her arms tightly around his neck.

"Oh my God you had me so worried I thought you were—"

"Yuki!" gasped Matt. "Please… stop… choking… me…"

"Oh!" Yuki cried out, putting her hands over her mouth. "I'm so sorry!" 

Matt winced, smiling slightly, and rubbed his neck. "Cripes, feels like I just got run over by a semi…"

"I wouldn't doubt that." Laura said. "You looked like you –had- been run over by a semi."

"Thanks." He muttered, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. Now that Yuki had finally let go of him and he could breathe properly Rage and Raven were practically strangling him they were hugging him so tightly as well.    

"…Hey…" he said after a minute of his mother, uncle, and Yuki fussing over him, comprehending what was missing. It had finally dawned on him. "..Where's dad?"

Raven said, hardly keeping control of her voice, "He was killed by a soldier." 

Matt stared at her disbelievingly. "After all the things you've told me he did… he could destroy a soldier with the snap of his fingers… He can't be dead! He can't!" Matt stumbled back numbly. 

"I'm sorry, Matt," sighed Rage tensely. "But that's what happened." 

Matt swore. "I'll kill him. I'll KILL whoever did that to dad!" 

"He's already dead." Said Raven dully, all the emotions drained from her. She waved her hand to indicate the dead soldier lying not far away. "I killed him."

"WHO KIDNAPPED YOU?" Matt's voice had risen to a shout. "WHO KILLED KEIKO?!"

"A man named Dameon. He wasn't the one who ordered it… he's someone's evil crony. Someone's over him… and Dameon's doing the dirty work."

"Then I'll kill Dameon. I'll find out who was over him and I'll kill whoever that is, to." Said Matt vehemently, his fists trembling with anger, and he ran as fast as he could out the door. 

"Wait!" yelled Yuki. 

"We gotta go after him," Rage said impatiently, "Or he'll get himself killed with that temper of his. Let's go." 

Raven, Yuki, and Laura all nodded in agreement, dashing off into an uncertain future.


	14. Dim as a Candle

            Matt pressed himself against the cold wall, peering around the corner. No one seemed to be there. Recklessly, throwing caution in the winds, he ran for it. There were two guards who had been hiding, though, and they jumped out at him. He narrowed his eyes. A glint of steely ice flashed in his eyes… the guards had never seen that kind of anger before, and then they knew just what they were in for. Without hesitating Matt slammed his sword through one, then the other. They hit the floor with revolting thuds. Maroon puddles crept over the floor. He smiled cruelly. Never had he felt the desire to kill… it was surging through him. Nothing could stop him now.

Raven shook her head, annoyed. "What is -wrong- with that kid?"

"They never wired him for lights so he's still running on candles. That's why he's so dim." offered Laura.

Yuki glared but snickered. "I can't argue with that."

Rage grinned. "Hehe.... he may be my nephew but he can be quite... a..."

"Dinkus?" beamed Laura.

"Yes. A dinkus. Whatever a dinkus is."

"Like dorkus." Laura explained, "Basically, moron, freak, silly goose, etc...."

"Ah, Alrighty then! No complaints to that." Rage smiled brightly.

Then silence possessed the air around them. Guards lay in gruesomely twisted shapes and grotesque streams of blood trickled in all direction.

"Well, Matt's been here." Announced Rage in a strangled voice.

"You ain't akidding!" fumed Raven. "When I get my hands on that little fink-rat--"  
"Rat-fink." Corrected Rage.

"Eat the Mustard of your doom! Study up on Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga! That's Fawful's line!"

"…Oh."

They all avoided the bodies. But one of the guards was still clinging to life. He moaned and Yuki felt a shiver go up her spine. He clutched her ankle and everything happened at once. The ground rushed to meet Yuki. Then the familiar sensation. She panicked. She did not -want- to see this man's memories. But it was too late. The connection had been made.

**The view was off a photo in trembling hands. The soldier that she was seeing through was grinning, his arm around a pretty woman's shoulders and three kids, each of a different age but none about ten, all beamed and giggled. Someone knocked the photo out of his hands. The view shifted so Yuki could see a man in a hood. His face was hidden by shadows. The man pounded his fist into the glass casing on the photo, sending it flying to the floor and shattering. The man smirked and stepped on it with his heel, crushing it.**

**"They're dead, Finix. Dead. You failed to kill the girl while you were in the other world, so they're dead."  
"NOOOOOOOOO!" the soldier screamed and sank to his knees and sobbed. "Damn you…. DAMN YOU!"**

**"I am the king of the damned." Chuckled the man, his voice like pure ice. "Now keep an eye out for any escapees. Rumor has it one of my… prized prisoners has escaped. The Mage. Laura. My sister."**

"Woah! Take it easy there Yuki! It's alrighty!"

Yuki awoke to find herself in Rage's arms. He was holding her down; as soon as she realized how hard she had been thrashing and fighting she stopped. She stood shakily up and looked over to the man. Dead. Surely dead. But that didn't change the memory. It had been as real as the sun and stars. And now, it was in the past, a -part- of the sun and stars.

There was a click click clicking and suddenly someone popped around the corner. Laura, who had been kneeling next to Yuki, sprang to her feet and pulled out a handgun and a shruiken. It was a frazzled boy with once-bright eyes. He appeared to have just been in a fight. Yuki, who felt like she was going to pass out anyway, held her breath and ducked behind Rage. Not that he was much help, his final height being 5' 5" plus the fact he was sitting down. The boy was bleeding badly, a black eye starting to form, and he was clutching his arm.

"It's okay." He said gently. "Yuki? Yuki…. I didn't mean it. Earlier, I mean."

"Liar!" Yuki suddenly popped up from behind Rage, coming up a good three and a half feet taller than him (a/n: yes he is sitting down from where he was trying to calm down Yuki. Yuki is -NOT THAT TALL-. Thankya! ) making her quite intimidating.

"I am not. Yuki, please forgive me, lemme explain--"

"Let you explain betraying me?! Lying to me for more than 10 years?! How could I forgive you for your treachery?! Y'know, at one point I was in -love- with you! But guess what?! You were a little Liar and a Sneak-Thief all along and there's no forgiveness in my heart for that!"

"Yuki, you DON'T UNDERSTAND! I WAS BEING POSSESSED! CONTROLED! IT WASN'T MY -FAULT-!"

"Just leave me alone," whispered Yuki.

"Your friend, that stupid boy," spat Dameon, "Is ignorant enough… He's crazy. He's on his way to fight the King of the Damned."

"Who's that?!"

"You should know him. I've nothing left to say to you, Yuki." Dameon ran off.

"Dameon that--"

"Shhh. Not nice to curse." Laura muttered.

"And you don't?!"

"…."

"C'mon. That King of the Damned guy sounds pretty freakin scary… And Matt can't just waltz in there and defeat him. So we need to go after him."

"What are we waiting for?"

            Matt ran at the man in the cloak for the umpteenth time. The man laughed. Laughed and cast magic. Suddenly Quetzalcoatl slammed Matt into the wall. This just couldn't end… He groaned and struggled to his feet. The man suddenly stopped.

"Shhh. Don't you hear them?" he cackled madly, "It is them! Fools! They have come after you! I shall kill them all!"

The man snapped his fingers and suddenly four huge guards came in, wrestling a screaming, struggling Matt till he was pinned to the wall. They chained him to the wall. The man snapped his fingers and the doors opened as if he was expecting someone. Matt cursed for a moment.

"You see, Matt… I am the King of the Damned. You could never hope to defeat me." He sank down in a throne of gold. Matt yelled something very rude at him.

"Ah, come in, everyone." Beamed the crazy man, or the King of the Damned as he insisted upon.

            Yuki came in and flew over to Matt.

"If you hurt him--!" she began to yell.

"Ah, Yuki my love." He chuckled. "Always have had a temper…"

"Who the hell are you?! What do you think you're doing to my Matt you little ba--"

"Such atrocious behavior." He waved his finger disappointedly.

"Who are you, you demented freak?!" Yuki yelled.

"Why, don't you recognize me? I'm hurt."

"Just say who you are, you…"

The cloak fell to the floor, and Yuki stared up at the man in a combination of terror and shock.


End file.
